Drink it in. Let it effervesce over the tongue a little. Tingles. Now swallow it down, hardcore NASCAR fans and decide how this one tastes.

In a sport where a title sponsorship is not just a logo or a brand, but an emblem of the state and essence of things for a hard kernel of heavily invested, heavily fretful fans, Monster Energy on Thursday was announced as the replacement for Sprint as the benefactor of NASCAR’s top series.

Gone, probably, will be the suffix “Cup” that has served as the convenient nickname of the series since R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company branded and built the series into a national commodity with its Winston brand in 1971. An official name and logo were not presented Thursday, but NASCAR chairman Brian France said the series had numerous options. So you can perseverate on that even longer.

Gone will be a major multi-demographic brand such as Sprint, nee Nextel, which became title sponsor in 2004 but announced 102 weeks ago that it would depart the sport because of recalibrated business objectives.

In comes an energy drink company that has shown vigor and enthusiasm in promoting other forms of motorsports, most notably supercross, where it underwrites the now-ironically titled Monster Energy Cup. Motorsports, correctly noted by France is “in their DNA” and Monster is a logical partner for the series in its current state – or predicament – as it attempts to stem declining attendance and television ratings by younging down its aging fan base.

NASCAR, France noted a day before the sport’s annual awards banquet in Las Vegas, is “in the fun business” and Monster with its claw marks and caffeine and such is good at fun.

That Monster doesn't market its highly caffeinated beverage to children under 12, per the company, is both ironic and unfortunate for the series because that is the next generation NASCAR is trying to reach. The teens remain ever-fickle about stock cars, even as they guzzle down their palpitation juice. Then again, cigarettes worked for a long time so maybe this brand will see an equally long run.

Maybe Monster will make inroads. But Red Bull and its Sprint Cup team were supposed to do the same a decade ago. So was Travis Pastrana.

Make no mistake, this is a good deal for NASCAR that this is signed and sealed now, after a deal was anticipated no later than early fall.

Monster has been much-rumored as the choice for weeks. NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Global Sales and Marketing Officer Steve Phelps noted the timing ceded to the championship weekend in late November and allowed a graceful exit for Sprint. But a news conference called midday Thursday (the day after the 2017 season-opening exhibition was announced, sponsorless), with no new top-series name or logo available to share all felt like a rush-job Vegas wedding.

No doubt, this is a good deal for Monster, which is able to align itself with a sport that despite recent regression in attendance and television ratings still has national appeal. And it couldn’t be bad that those little problems Monster saw past allowed it to pay far less than Sprint had to originally before renegotiating a better rate in its last extension in 2011. No terms besides “a multi-year agreement with some options” were announced. “Long-term” or maybe a number like “10 years” - the length of the initial Nextel deal, estimated at at least $70 million per year at the time - would have felt sturdier.

That’s the business part. Now it’s up to the fan part. The title sponsor means more to you than marketing.

Now it’s about you, the 50-something man from an electorally red land who has just about had it with the rules tinkering in the sport. You into a T-shirt with some claw marks on it?

You will put Monster Chief Marketing Officer Mark Hall’s theory - “Young people set trends in fashion, and then older people adapt” – to test very soon. You will be watching.

You were probably watching the livestream and the conclusion of an afternoon of odd optics, four middle-aged men – France, Phelps, Hall and Monster marketing executive Mitch Covington – flanked by models in pants and leather vests, cracking open some energy drinks and toasting the future.

It was a head rush in the moment. But you’re worried about the aftertaste.

Chase finale: Joey Logano, left, narrowly avoids crashing with Carl Edwards late in the race. Logano finished fourth, while the wreck knocked Edwards out of the race and out of championship contention. John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

Round 3: Matt Kenseth goes careening into the wall while racing for the lead with Alex Bowman during the first overtime restart at Phoenix. The crash extinguished Kenseth's hopes of racing for his second championship. Christian Petersen, Getty Images

Round 3: Carl Edwards, right, celebrates with his crew after being declared the winner of the Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6. The win clinches a berth in the title race for Edwards. Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

Round 3: Carl Edwards (19) follows Martin Truex Jr. (78) down pit road at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards bested Truex on their final pit stop to take the race lead before the rain fell again a short time later. Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

Round 3: Jimmie Johnson's daughter Genevieve puts her father's name on the final four column of the Chase for the Sprint Cup leaderboard after Johnson won for the ninth time at Martinsville Speedway to clinch a berth in the title race. Michael Thomas Shroyer, USA TODAY Sports

Round 3: Carl Edwards pulls his car into the garage after hitting the wall at Martinsville. Edwards finished 23 laps down in 36th-place and likely finds himself in a must-win situation in the next two races Chase races. Daniel Shirey, Getty Images

Round 2: Smoke pours out of Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 78 Toyota on Lap 41 of the Hellmann's 500. Truex finished last with an engine failure and was eliminated from the Chase. Marvin Gentry, USA TODAY Sports

Round 2: The crew of Chase Elliott changes tires and refuels the No. 24 Chevrolet after Elliott was forced to make a green-flag pit stop because of a left-rear tire rub. Elliott finished 31st at Kansas Speedway and dropped to 12th in the standings. Jason Hanna, Getty Images

Round 1: Kyle Larson receives a black flag after incurring a penalty for too many men over the wall during a pit stop at Dover. Larson finished six laps down and was eliminated from the Chase. Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

Round 1: Martin Truex Jr., center, celebrates with his crew and girlfriend Sherry Pollex, holding a phone, after winning the opening race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway and securing a berth in the second round. Mike DiNovo, USA TODAY Sports